du CEO discusses CSR on 'Capacity-Building and Dividends Multiplied: The Private Sector and CSR Initiatives' panel

Dubai, UAE, 28 May 2013:Osman Sultan, CEO, du, shared his expertise and view on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as part of the Industry Leaders Panel, 'Capacity-Building and Dividends Multiplied: The Private Sector and CSR Initiatives', at the recent Philanthropy in Higher Education and Responsible Social Giving: When Giving is a Reward forum. 

The forum, held under the patronage of His Excellency  Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Youth, Culture, and Community Development and hosted by the University Leadership Council of the UAE in in collaboration with Strategia Consultancy, highlights the increasingly important role of philanthropy and responsible social contribution towards sustainable development.

"In today's world, we must adopt corporate social responsibility as a necessity in order to achieve sustainability; we no longer have the luxury of considering it to be an option. Sustainability should be integrated into both strategy and operations, in order to reap rewards that will reflect positively upon business and the community. It should be an integral part of corporate culture, and should be nurtured from within," said Sultan. "I urge more corporations to contribute to providing a better educational environment and empowering those within the education ecosystem, to support the leaders of tomorrow's UAE in building a stronger future for the nation."

"We intend to build necessary human resources by combining the best of commerce and industry with academia. The alumni are eminently qualified and employers are more than receptive to have such well-trained individuals close at hand," said Dr. Nada Mourtada-Sabbah, Vice-Chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs at the American University of Sharjah, at the event.

To encourage sustainability in the UAE's education sector, du is involved in several initiatives that support Emirati students.

du installed and operates a fully functional multimedia lab at Zayed University in Dubai, which provides technical support to the university's College of Communication and Media Sciences.  It is equipped with state-of-the-art technical infrastructure and software, and features a channel exclusively for Zayed University so that students can broadcast programmes and interviews. 

du and the American University of Sharjah (AUS) have established an AED5 million scholarship for 5 years, to enable meritorious students who are financially challenged to access the university's excellent education.

In partnership with the American University in Dubai (AUD), du offers 20 postgraduate scholarships a year until 2017, 15 of which are for the Emirati community, specifically high performers without funds, disabled persons, and women or single mothers. 


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About du
We opened for business in 2006. We offer mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to individuals, homes and businesses. We also provide carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters. 

As a rapidly-growing enterprise, we have a team of experts working to enhance and expand our bouquet of service offerings. Our people come from over 60 countries - we mirror the rich cultural diversity of our nation, while being able to serve our customers in a variety of languages. 

Over 50% of our senior management team and customer-facing employees are UAE nationals, and we remain committed to providing fulfilling opportunities for quality talent in a cosmopolitan working environment. 

By the end of 2012, more than 6.45 million people and over 50,000 businesses have chosen to use our services. In a survey conducted by ARC Chart, we were named the Best Mobile Broadband Network 2012 in the Middle East and Africa region. We also ranked first in MENA's Standard & Poor/Hawkamah Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Index in 2011.

du is 39.5 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 20.081 percent by Mubadala Development Company PJSC, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications and Technology LLC and the remaining stake by public shareholders. du is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name 'du'. 

For further information, please contact:
Saugat Chatterjee
Public Relations Manager 
Brand & Communications
du
Mobile: +971 55 9367045
Email: saugat.chatterjee@du.ae

Reka Sepsy
LeoComm PR
Tel: +971 4 367 6154 
Mobile: +971 55 220 68 20
Fax: +971 4 367 2615
Email: reka.sepsy@leocommpr.com

© Press Release 2013